1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to feeding devices for animals and more particularly to automatic fish feeding devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people keep an aquarium in their home or office. One reason for keeping fish is that a properly maintained fish tank is a beautiful and interesting addition to a room's decor. On the other hand, many people will keep an aquarium as an interesting and rewarding hobby.
Fish have to be fed regularly and in proper amounts. To little food, to much food, or food provided at the wrong time can result in dead fish and and a dirty aquarium. It is therefore important to develop a proper feeding schedule for the fish, and to strictly adhere to that schedule.
It is, of course, very difficult for people to always be available to feed their fish. For example vacations, emergencies, and other events may require the aquarium owner to be elsewhere at feeding time. Furthermore, even if the owner is available the task of feeding his or her fish may be unwanted or inconvenient.
The above mentioned problems have been addressed in the prior art by U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,066 of Kleiber, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,858,799 of Krauss. In Kleiber, an automatic feeding device includes an electric clock mechanism which dispenses a predetermined amount of fish food once during each 24 hour period. The time at which the fish food is dispensed can be set on the clock face of his device.
In the Krauss patent an automatic fish feeder is disclosed including a vertical storage tower provided with a plurality of shelves, each of which contains enough fish food for one day. An electric clock mechanism causes the shelves within the tower submerge into the fish tank at the rate of one shelf per day.
A problem with automatic fish feeders of the prior art is that time intervals between feedings are essentially nonadjustable. For example, if the optimal feeding schedule calls for a heavy feeding in the morning and a lighter feeding in the afternoon and evening, the fish feeders of Kleiber and Krauss could not be utilized. Furthermore, the amount of fish food which is released by the prior art devices is usually fixed by the mechanism itself.
Another problem associated with prior art automatic fish feeders is that the fish within the tank do not always immediately realize that their food has been released. This can allow a major portion of the fish food to settle to the bottom of the tank resulting in waste and in the eventual fouling of the tank. The Kleiber patent addresses this problem by having his automatic fish feeding device turn on the aquarium light before and during the feeding operation to alert the fish therein.
There are several problems with using a light to signal the fish that it is feeding time. Firstly, fish lights consume a considerable amount of energy, which usually means that the fish feeding device must be coupled to AC power source. Secondly, a signaling light is not always effective during daylight hours, particularly if sunlight is shining directly upon the aquarium.